Our Rivals Squad next year - Arsenal

I'd put Dzeko above Giroud as a finisher. If he played for us I think he'd be prolific.
I think Dzeko is really underrated. He's a good allround striker and I think he would be a very good fit if he'd play for Arsenal. He's also only half a year older than Giroud.
A lot of people make it sound like he's a donkey just because he's no Suarez/Aguero/RvP but his production is really good.

Prem: games 108 goals 46 assists 21 -> 1 goal|assist every 92min
Bundesliga: games 111 goals 66 assists 28 -> 1 goal|assist every 95min

Giroud:
Prem: games 70 goals 27 assists 14 -> 1 goal|assist every 131min
Ligue 1: games 73 goals 33 assists 17 -> 1 goal|assist every 122min
 
Dzeko suits his role at City which is what I've been saying. If he led the line full time his numbers would be worse off.

He's not donkey, he's an essential cog in a title winning side. I think Girouds good enough for that too.
 
@Sarni - 2010.

The squad's lacking a top class DM and Striker for me - if we're lucky with fitness there's enough talent to make it work but we won't be. 2nd or 3rd depending on the teams above us, the fitness of Ramsey and Koscielny and how Ozil and Sanchez settle.
 
Arsenal expect about 15 league goals from Giroud, the paceboys and technomidgets will get the other 65.

When was the last time you scored 80 goals in the league?

2009-10 which is weird because Fabregas was our top scorer with 15, then Arshavin got 9, I'm not sure who scored the rest.

Anyway, Giroud is a good player but he needs to be on the bench more often than not if we're going to win the league.

How did Wenger go from Adebayor, Rvp, Eduardo and Nicky B to Giroud, Sanogo and Campbell?

Surely he knows that our number 1 priority this summer was a new striker followed by a new DM. Still time to go and if Cavani's agent is honest and those quotes are real at least we've been making enquiries about a new striker.
 
The squad's lacking a top class DM and Striker for me - if we're lucky with fitness there's enough talent to make it work but we won't be. 2nd or 3rd depending on the teams above us, the fitness of Ramsey and Koscielny and how Ozil and Sanchez settle.
And if Arsenal do decide to turn up in the big games. ;)
 
2009-10 which is weird because Fabregas was our top scorer with 15, then Arshavin got 9, I'm not sure who scored the rest.

Anyway, Giroud is a good player but he needs to be on the bench more often than not if we're going to win the league.

How did Wenger go from Adebayor, Rvp, Eduardo and Nicky B to Giroud, Sanogo and Campbell?

Surely he knows that our number 1 priority this summer was a new striker followed by a new DM. Still time to go and if Cavani's agent is honest and those quotes are real at least we've been making enquiries about a new striker.

Weird, I thought it would date back to Henry days. You had van Persie in 2010 but he probably played in about 3 games. I don't really remember you being any close to the title at the time either, Chelsea won it by beating us with few games to spare at Old Trafford but you were some way behind.

The current side appears to have goals in them. Sanchez will probably knock around 15.
 
And if Arsenal do decide to turn up in the big games. ;)

This old cliche again?

Chelsea didn't lose a single "big" game last year among the top 4 and ended up finishing 3rd.

Liverpool only won two out of 6 and finished above them.

In the 2011-12 season we won at both Anfield and Stamford Bridge, also beat City at home as well as a 5-2 win over Spurs, finished 3rd, 19 points behind the winner. Compare that to this season where we got battered at those two grounds but only finished 7 points off the league.

The "big games" aren't the decisive be all end all factor that determines who wins the league.
 
This old cliche again?

Chelsea didn't lose a single "big" game last year among the top 4 and ended up finishing 3rd.

Liverpool only won two out of 6 and finished above them.

In the 2011-12 season we won at both Anfield and Stamford Bridge, also beat City at home as well as a 5-2 win over Spurs, finished 3rd, 19 points behind the winner. Compare that to this season where we got battered at those two grounds but only finished 7 points off the league.

The "big games" aren't the decisive be all end all factor that determines who wins the league.
Arsenal finished third in 2011-12 though.

Last season was an anomaly for Chelsea; any other year with that record and they would've done enough to win the title. Sure beating the 14-16 other teams home and away is great, but taking points off from the teams around you is just as important. Or no one will really see you as a threat.
 
Giroud's better than Dzeko (neither are clinical but Olly offers at lot more to team play).
I disagree. You just have to look at Dzeko when he plays for Bosnia and played for Wolfsburg. When his team mates involve him in the game he's able to hold up the ball well and play some nice passes. At least on the level of Giroud. On top of that he's a better finisher and has more presence.

He really suffered at City because he came in the winter transfer period in 2011 and didn't hit the ground running. He needed half a year to acclimatize to the league, unfortunately for him City bought Agüero in the summer of 2011. After that it was clear that he would be a bench player because Agüero is simply a special player and at least a top 3 striker in the Prem at the moment.

I wish Dzeko would leave City. He's wasted on City's bench. He could IMO get >20 goals and 10 assists per season if he would be a starter.
I'd really would have liked to see him at Arsenal or go back to Wolfsburg. I think with him in the team Wolfsburg would be able to finish 3rd in the Bundesliga easily and even challenge for 2nd.
 
Arsenal finished third in 2011-12 though.

Last season was an anomaly for Chelsea; any other year with that record and they would've done enough to win the title. Sure beating the 14-16 other teams home and away is great, but taking points off from the teams around you is just as important.
What does that mean? Their points total would have won them the league in one of the last ten seasons (probably longer, I stopped checking from there). Being set up to beat the big teams doesn't mean you're the best team in the league, Chelsea proved that.
 
He does a job for city, has scored crucial goals but is no world beater. Like Hernandez for United his goals per game ratio flatters to deceive because he doesn't have to do the heavy lifting.
 
:wenger: He's going to a 433 with Olly, Alexis and Wally.

I'm talking about strikers. Sorry I know he has a lot of good qualities but I just don't like Giroud as a 1st choice striker in this Arsenal side, or any Arsenal side for that matter because we can do better. Benzema-Sanchez-Walcott sounds much better than any possible combination involving Olly G.

Arsenal finished third in 2011-12 though.

Last season was an anomaly for Chelsea; any other year with that record and they would've done enough to win the title. Sure beating the 14-16 other teams home and away is great, but taking points off from the teams around you is just as important. Or no one will really see you as a threat.

I did say we finished 3rd. Sure its important but overall consistency in the league wins you the title not the off game against a title rival. Those games just get a lot more media attention and scrutiny so a 1-0 loss against Chelsea at the Bridge in April is more damaging in the eyes of the public than two 3-0 losses against two bottom 5 teams in September, even though the former is only 3 dropped points against a strong side while the latter is 6 points lost against two clearly inferior teams.
 
I've never rated him, I thought he was at the same level as Grafite at Wolfsburg.
Grafite was a one season wonder really. He managed 28 goals and 11 assists in 25 games in 08/09. Before and after that he barely managed 10 goals a season. He never really was at the same level as Dzeko regarding his allround play. He mostly finished easy chances Dzeko and Misimovic (who had an insane 20 assists that season) set up for him.
 
If Giroud is first choice, if, he will be playing in a system surrounded by pace unike last year when Ozil, Santi and Wilshere were on the flanks, plus he'll get plenty of rotation from our numerous and reliable(relative to Bendtner) alternatives.
 
Hey @FCBarca, I'm wondering what your opinion on Hector Bellerin is... Was he considered a loss when he moved to Arsenal? How was he rated as a youth talent?
 
I disagree. You just have to look at Dzeko when he plays for Bosnia and played for Wolfsburg. When his team mates involve him in the game he's able to hold up the ball well and play some nice passes. At least on the level of Giroud. On top of that he's a better finisher and has more presence.

He really suffered at City because he came in the winter transfer period in 2011 and didn't hit the ground running. He needed half a year to acclimatize to the league, unfortunately for him City bought Agüero in the summer of 2011. After that it was clear that he would be a bench player because Agüero is simply a special player and at least a top 3 striker in the Prem at the moment.

I wish Dzeko would leave City. He's wasted on City's bench. He could IMO get >20 goals and 10 assists per season if he would be a starter.
I'd really would have liked to see him at Arsenal or go back to Wolfsburg. I think with him in the team Wolfsburg would be able to finish 3rd in the Bundesliga easily and even challenge for 2nd.

I agree with that, well except of the part about Wolfsburg easily getting 3rd or even challenging Dortmund with just the addition of Dzeko. A strong striker does not reduce the general pretty harsh drop between the starting XI and the bench.

Coming back to Dzeko himself, I also think he is underrated on here especially in terms of his play outside finishing. It was his hold up and link up play, which made him stand out the most at Wolfsburg and also at Manchester he produced good results despite being shifted around a lot. It was his general play, which made his name circulate so long as direct replacement of Lewandowski at Dortmund. While the Pole is better in terms of technique they are not that different in terms of style.
 
Hey @FCBarca, I'm wondering what your opinion on Hector Bellerin is... Was he considered a loss when he moved to Arsenal? How was he rated as a youth talent?

Poachings are always considered a loss, even if their playing prospects at Barcelona were uncertain. Toral was the more promising prospect but his departure was not seen as a surprise owing to his English roots. Bellerin, with Alves & Montoya ahead of him likely saw the writing on the wall. Between the two (Despite different positions), I'd rather have Toral
 
I agree with that, well except of the part about Wolfsburg easily getting 3rd or even challenging Dortmund with just the addition of Dzeko. A strong striker does not reduce the general pretty harsh drop between the starting XI and the bench.

Coming back to Dzeko himself, I also think he is underrated on here especially in terms of his play outside finishing. It was his hold up and link up play, which made him stand out the most at Wolfsburg and also at Manchester he produced good results despite being shifted around a lot. It was his general play, which made his name circulate so long as direct replacement of Lewandowski at Dortmund. While the Pole is better in terms of technique they are not that different in terms of style.

I think I won't argue about the bolded part as I don't want to take this thread off topic further. Maybe we can discuss this in the BL thread.

Agree with the rest of your post.
 
I like the makeup of the Arsenal team. I think they've matured well and the squad has been together for a couple of seasons. A defensive midfielder is the only area where there is a major weakness.

This all depends on their ability to keep people fit though. If Ramsey picks up another injury like he did last season then they are fecked.
 
They looked very good today but lets not get ahead of ourselves. We said similar things in September-October about them last season.